Thanks to the comeback against Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday, Liverpool have maintained big six-point lead over Manchester City in the EPL table. The Reds face another tough match-up in the 11th round of fixtures. They will be playing against Aston Villa, while reigning champions City will host Southampton, a side that were humiliated by Leicester City during last week. All in all, we are probably in for another exciting football weekend in England. Let’s take a look at the hottest predictions and some previews.
AFC Bournemouth v Manchester United
The Red Devils have finally returned to the upper part of the table thanks to their 1-3 victory against Norwich City at Carrow Road. It was confirmed though that Paul Pogba is going to be sidelined for at least a further month, which leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with only a couple of options. Scott McTominay has been doing great job in the last couple of weeks, and he definitely earned a spot ahead of Nemanja Matic. He is not as creative as Pogba or Mata though, which usually results with less chances being created for the forwards. United struggled against Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League as well, but winning matches despite performing poorly is a virtue of big teams.
The Red Devils are favourites to beat AFC Bournemouth this Saturday, priced at best odds of 6/5. The hosts currently have the same number of points as United, with a slightly worse goal difference. The Cherries are winless in five games in a row though, failing to score a single goal against Arsenal, Norwich City and Watford consecutively. They were defeated in six out of their last seven head-to-head encounters with Man Utd. Our betting tip for this encounter is going to be away win. A good value bet is Man Utd to win & both teams to score.
Arsenal FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers
There has been a lot of drama surrounding Arsenal for the last couple of days. The behaviour of captain Granit Xhaka was particularly controversial, but he is yet to offer a public apology for his angry reaction to being jeered by the club’s supporters. There are obviously some bad vibes in the Gunners’ dressing room, but the current standings are not looking that bad. Arsenal are sitting fifth in the table on 16 points, which is only four points behind Chelsea and a Champions League spot, which is the primary goal for this season. The squad is struggling in the EPL of late, securing only one victory in their last four encounters. Last Monday’s loss to Sheffield United was particularly unexpected. Unai Emery’s boys are big favourites to beat Wolves this weekend at odds of 3/5, but as mentioned above, there are many issues within the team.
Wolves are enjoying a European adventure as one of the EPL representatives in the Europa League group stages. Those continental fixtures have most certainly taken their toll on domestic results. The Molineux club is currently occupying 12th position in the table with 12 points. The start of the new season was a really slow one for them, but their most recent form (they are undefeated in their last five Premier League matches) is encouraging. We actually fancy the 6/5 odds given on the double chance, draw or away victory for this match. Arsenal have won only one out of their last four encounters with Wolves.
Aston Villa v Liverpool
The odds on Liverpool to end this season without suffering a single defeat are dropping every week. Jurgen Klopp’s side are playing really well, and this is surely the best chance they have had in the last decade to win the Premier League title. So far the Reds have won nine out of 10 matches. The only draw came at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Last week’s match against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield started with Spurs taking a shock lead inside the first minute through Harry Kane. But thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah in the second half, the Reds won the game and maintained their 100 per centwin rate at home. This weekend they visit Villa Park.
Aston Villa are a team you don’t want to underestimate. They had an amazing streak of three victories and a draw before facing Man City last week. Villa scored 12 goals in their four games prior to their trip to the Etihad Stadium. The current standings see them in 15th place with 11 points. We feel that backing the draw here with a small stake might be worth a risk.
